The present invention relates to the withdrawing and taking up a light wave conductor (fiber optic) having been deposited in an angular groove in one front face of a disc or round plate. The withdrawing and taking up to be carried out through a free reeling deflection pulley or sheave having a stationary axis of rotation and providing for such a take-up and withdrawal so that the fiber optic can be fed to a further processing station.
Fiber optics, following manufacture, are often coiled and deposited in an angular groove in the front face of a plate or disc for temporary storage. When the time has come for further processing, the fiber optic and light wave condutor has to be withdrawn and here, as stated, one uses a deflection or take-up pulley or sheave. Common practice here is to dispose this particular pulley in the center, i.e., directly above the axis of rotation of the disc or plate, the disc or plate rotating during the take-up and withdrawing procedure. As the fiber optic is picked up and emerges, therefore, from the grove, it is further practice to provide a cone being coaxially arranged on the disc or plate, for feeding the light wave conductor and fiber optic to a funnel. This funnel, in turn, is likewise coaxially disposed with respect to the axis of rotation of the disc or plate whereby the larger opening of the funnel is oriented in downward direction, and it is this funnel which runs the light wave conductor to the deflection sheave or pulley.
The aforementioned conical- and funnel-shaped elements are required so that upon rotation of the disc a migration of the point of pick-up along the periphery of the groove is made possible for proper picking up of the conductor. However, this kind of an arrangement is disadvantaged by the fact that these coaxially arranged funnel and conical parts prevent a space- or area-saving arrangement when pick-up is desired from several different storage plates or discs simply because, for one reason or another, several fiber optics are to be structurally combined in the processing arrangement. In particular, a vertically staggered arrangement of such discs or plates is not possible. Moreover, it was found that this arrangement of conical- and funnel-shaped parts renders quite difficult the threading of a new fiber optic into the equipment provided for pick-up.